The Mythos Trials

Chapter Thirty

It was hard to tell how much time had passed since they'd arrived in Horus's cavern, but Phenex estimated it hadn't been more than three or four hours. In that time, both Forneus and Gwen had woken—the latter barely a few minutes after the former—and from there, they had learned a great deal from Horus about all that had happened since their last meeting.

The good news was that Rem, Aquis, and Cienna had rendezvoused with Asclepius and the others in Geminus two days earlier, all nine of the artifacts in their possession. Thanks to the shared efforts of Hades and Kamish on one end, and Thoth on the other, a series of temporary portals had been activated between realms.

This explained how those stuck in the unnamed sectors had managed to cross the borders, though apparently it had required a great deal of godly power to make it happen. According to the reports, every god that had taken part had been thrown into a coma for over a week. If not for the attempts being staggered, those operatives stationed on Earth and in the few other realms currently under attack would have been helpless. Fortunately the reinforcements gained from the gods' actions had balanced things out.

Unfortunately, in the wake of all the good news Horus gave them, there was bad. In spite of only one renegade faction—the Kagayaku Hebi—still rebelling against both Set's forces and theirs, Set's main fighting force had grown exponentially over the last week and a half. This was due in part to what remained of the Mahi Kabeele surrendering to him, but apparently there was a lot more to it than that. What Reeves and Lucas had started, Iris had continued, a great many of Mythos' own denizens joining her side.

When they heard this, neither Forneus nor Phenex thought this was happenstance, and Horus confirmed as much.

Though it was true at least a third of their numbers had been spur of the moment, others had political leanings towards those the Regulations Force and High Council labelled troublesome. Whether their Mythosian allies sympathized because of anti-council propaganda, or because in their own villages and settlements, they had suffered some form of discrimination, no one seemed to know. Despite the Sixth Unit's efforts, they hadn't been able to prevent every uprising that happened within their jurisdiction, any more than they could stop every minor confrontation between neighbours.

By the time Horus had gotten to the approximate casualty count—humans, Reg. Force ops, and enemies alike—what little satisfaction the trio had gained from their success in gathering the pure ether had diminished.

Perhaps Horus had noticed Gwen's slightly green pallor when he mentioned a third of the population of one of the towns neighbouring hers had been wiped out, because he offered her a bit of good news, as well: Discreet protective detail had been secured for her parents, directly undertaken by Lord Mars, himself.

Apparently the better majority of her town sat beneath a protective shroud, but it had taken Mars considerable effort to erect it—and double the time of the other gods to recover as a result. Fortunately, Pan was still at the front lines, with Mathis and Lithias stationed with troops in neighbouring cities.

This seemed to cheer Gwen up a bit, though Phenex could tell her mind was still on the countless lives lost in her world. Not for the first time, guilt settled in the pit of his stomach like a stone, remembering the callous words he'd said to her short months ago. With the way things were now, her concerns were anything but petty.

Phenex shook himself from his thoughts, allowing his gaze to refocus on their surroundings. In lieu of discussing Earth's status over lunch—or dinner, whichever it was now—Horus had thought it prudent that they speak in his personal archive room. Though room wasn't the word for it, least of all because it was one of many adjoining caverns branching off the main one.